1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to floral display holders. In particular, the invention is directed towards a floral display holder resting on top of a funeral casket displaying the floral arrangement in an inclined elevation. Of course, the floral display holder described herein may be used in other circumstances as well as funeral caskets where the inclination of the floral arrangement is desired.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many floral display holders today utilize a water-retaining foam (hereinafter referred to as the "floral foam" or foam") to attach flowers thereon in a desired arrangement and at the same time provide water to the stems of the flowers to prevent wilting. Prior to piercing the floral foam with the desired flower arrangement, the floral foams are saturated with water. The foams are then placed onto a floral display holder and locked into place by retaining clips. The floral foam when fully saturated retains approximately five cups of water. Despite this initial saturation the floral foam gradually dries as a result of both evaporation into the ambient air and absorption by the flower arrangement.
The floral display holder of the inclined double-dept saddle variety displays a floral arrangement by resting on top of a funeral casket. It is desired that the floral foams are inclined towards the audience so as to heighten the quality view of the floral arrangement. Generally, at least two foams sit side by side along their length. In some prior art, it is taught that at least one foam must be trimmed before inserting it into the housing of the floral display holder. Once a wedge-like portion is removed with a knife, the foam is inserted into the holder alongside an uncut foam. The prior art allowed only the foam nearest to the front area of the displayer holder ("front foam") to be inclined while the rear foam remained horizontal. As a result of trimming the front foam and inclining the floor surface area just below the front foam a desired inclination of the front foam was achieved. The overall appearance of this layout is known as a `cascade` display. However, there remained the problem that labour was needed in trimming the foam and that only one foam was inclined. Morever, because the prior art taught one foam being inclined while the other remained horizontally disposed, occasionally the foams did not abut continuously throughout their length either because of poor trimming or because of saturation of the front foam tending to sway the foam away from the horizontally disposed foam.
In the case of a floral display holder of the inclined double-depth saddle variety, there is generally more than one foam utilized in the holder; therefore, there is additional surface area for ambient air to come into contact with the foam because more than one foam is generally used. This would inherently increase the evaporation rate of the water in the foam. Further, when the foam is in an inclination, the force of gravity causes a gradual migration of the water retained in the foam to migrate from the upper portions of the foam to the bottom. As the inclination from the horizontal increases, the migration becomes more exaggerated. As the flowers inserted in the now dried-up portion may wilt earlier than those flowers inserted at the moister bottom portion of the foam. Currently, a user must, therefore, occasionally attend the floral display arrangement with a watering vessel in hand to re-saturate the floral foam. When water is simply added to the top portion of the floral foam, excess water begins to undesirably accumulate in the lower portion near the bottom of the foam. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,929 to O'Connell, there is at least one aperture along the connecting edge of the upper bottom wall and the lowermost side wall to drain this excess water into the hollow interior of the product.
However, currently available inclining floral display holders fail to address the need to conveniently re-saturate a dried foam without a watering vessel. Morever, a completed flower arrangement is difficult to handle, especially when fully loaded. A completed flower arrangement may weigh in the range of 40 to 50 pounds; therefore, a means to comfortably transport the holder is desired.